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This steamed bun is made with raw meat filling as its name suggested. Of course, the filling would be cooked after steamed. Check out another version of steamed meat bun, made with cooked filling. If you ask me which one I prefer, both of them have different flavour and I like them all. However, the one made with cooked filling has my childhood memories associated with it and it contains additional "taste" to me.

Sift together flours and icing sugar. Place sifted flour mixture in a large mixing bowl and make a well in the middle.

Fill well with lukewarm water, vinegar and yeast. Use a spatula, gently stir the water to dissolve the yeast then slowly bring together flour mixture.

Add in shortening or oil and knead for 10-15 minutes until soft dough is formed. It should be smooth on the surface.

Cover dough with damp cloth and let it rise for 30 minutes or until it is doubled in size. I used bread maker’s dough mode to prepare my dough up to this step.

Dissolve baking powder in cold water, sprinkle over dough and knead until well combined. Divide dough into 12 equal portions and flatten with a rolling pin to make a 3” circle. Then place 1 tablespoon of minced pork filling, 1 piece of chicken and 1 wedges of egg in the middle of circle. Wrap and pleat the dough to seal (refer to photo appended below). Place bun onto a 1.5” square parchment paper, seal side up.

Arrange buns into a steamer, leave about 1” gab in between buns. Spray water mist over buns, and steam in a preheated steamer on high heat for 12 minutes. Remove buns from steamer and cool on rack to prevent soggy bottom.

Notes:

There is no need to rest the dough after adding in baking powder, but if time allowed, rest it for 10 minutes or so to get fluffier buns.

Adding a few drops of vinegar into steaming water will produce whiter buns, but this is optional.

Steamer must be preheated otherwise bun would not rise to the volume as it should be.

Spray the surface of buns with water mist helps to produce buns with smooth surface after steamed.

DO NOT open the lid during the steaming process.

If there are yellowish spots on the steamed buns, it means the baking powder is not fully dissolved.

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Awhile ago, a reader asked about the wrapping technique in creating beautiful pleating. This afternoon I managed to get T to snap some photos when I was making these buns, what a nice timing! Let's let those photos do the talking...

If you prefer more pleats, make smaller pleats.

For making xiao long bao (the type with soup in it, and a small opening on top), the pleating method would be different and end product is something like this one.

I am new to your website and I want to thank you for posting all these yummy recipes for us to enjoy. I had made steam buns before with someone else recipe but mine came out yellowish color instead of white steam buns. Can you tell me how come yours are so white? Also, what is the reason to use vinegar or lemon juice in the recipe? Please reply here and send copy to itran1otmail.com. Thank you.

Wow! Looking yummy. Really want to learn how to make them(never try to make pao or bread before). Where can I get Hong Kong flour? Couldn’t find it at those baking ingredients section( also try to find at Asia maket). The buns look cute! Like the way you made them.

Anonymous,Sorry, can't advise you where to get the flour cos I don't know your location.If hong kong/bao flour is not available, you can try using all purpose flour. But, the colour of bao would not be as white as the one using bao flour.

Hi Lydia,Thank you for your quick reponding. I just found the Low Gluten Flour in the maket where i live( california, USA) this morning. Do you think i can use this instead of Hong Kong Pao flour? Also, what is Wheat starch? is that wheaten flour? Do you think i can find hong Kong Pao flour here in california...he..he.. still want to buy the Hong Kong Pao. Again, thank you for your time and wishing all the best to you and your family.

I think you can use the low gluten flour. As for wheat starch, it is starch from wheat where gluten has been removed. I am thinking, if you are using low gluten flour, do you still need wheat starch? :D

You should be able to find hong kong flour in Chinatown there. I could find it in Sydney Chinatown or even in small Asian/oriental grocery shops when I lived there.

hi lydia..just found your website and it will try out your recipe later..can u tell me what is wheat starch and what is the different between corn starch and corn flour??really looking forward to it coz i want to try your chinese steamed meat bun...my email mummykenn@gmail.com

Hi Sharon,There are some chinese pastry recipes called for icing sugar.Well, to me, buns made with icing sugar softer and more cotton-like texture. As far as I know, icing sugar contains some anti-caking properties... not sure that's reason? I have also tried using icing sugar for cakes, and yes... better texture too. If you found out more info about icing sugar in baking/pastry, do update me. Thanks!

i tried your pau recipe today. sadly, it didn't out fluffy and soft but coarser and too shiny skin.

i followed exactly yer recipes excepts i didn't add vinegar and i dissolved the yeast into the lukewarm water. it produced a soft pliable dough. it didn't take me long to knead the dough into smooth state.

i wasn't sure bout the baking powder solution, so i only sprinkled 3/4 of it. should i use up the whole thing and may i ask what is the purpose of this method?

as i got a soft pliable dough (like play dough...no joke), i wasn't able to do a good job in pleating. i got the pleating done but the pleats were gone after second proof. after steaming the surface looks shiny for the first batch and the 2nd batch looks bumpy. the pau(s) came out a bit flatter.

oh gosh, i'm so dejected. can you pls help me and point out what have i done wrong?! thanks in advance...

I love making steam bun, but my buns doesn't seem to be as white as yours. I tried to use vinegar both in the dough and the water use for steaming the bun, but still it doesn't seem as white as I wanted it to. But, I use all purpose flour though, because I don't know where to get hong kong flour. I tried to go to every asian store in my town, but they don't carry hong kong flour. Can you tell me where I can find this flour.....Thanks.

If you can find bleached flour there, maybe you can give it a try. Well, sorry that I can tell u where to get HK flour in your location.

Another thing you can try to produce whiter buns is to make sure the steamer is not too hot. From my past experiences, bun turned out yellowish if I use rice cooker for steaming (with very tight cover). And, buns came out nicely when steamed in wok + steaming rack (with medium heat). All the best.

Thank you for your respond. I used your steam bun recipe yesterday and my buns came out perfect except, its not as white as yours. I used bleached all purpose flour with wheat starch instead, of hong kong flour. But, it's getting a lot whiter than my previous steam buns.

Lana, Glad to hear that and thanks for your comment, hopefully you able to find some HK flour soon.

Kim,If leaving at room temp (summer), must consume within 6rs. Well, food safety guide suggests that any cooked food must consume within 4 hrs. If keep in the fridge, up to 5 days (need to reheat before serving) and freezer up to 3mths (in ziplock bag).

hi lydia, thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe n love your photoshots...looks really yummy.....can i ask.... can i mix the baking powder in with the dough before i proof it... why do u need to proof it first then mix in the baking powder, why not do it altogether?.many thankscherry

I think you can mix in the baking powder before proofing it, some recipes use this method. Adding baking powder later is to maintain the "strength" or maybe I should say the raising "power" to BP to produce better texture buns.

I've tried other recipe before but not sure why the thin film of skin on the surface turned out shiny and rather hard. I had to peel it off before eating. Do you know why? Or how can I prevent this? I'm using my oven's steaming function to steam, but I had also try using stove-top for the steaming, and both gave the same result.

Another question is, how long do I need to hand-knead the dough? The recipe always say knead until soft and smooth. I always feel that it's soft and smooth when it's no longer sticky, usually after about 10 mins of hand-kneading. Is this the stage to stop? Or does the kneading need to reach the window-pane level just like kneading bread dough, which can take a long time? Thank you.

To prevent the hard thin film on the surface, leave steamed buns in steamer (heat off) for 1-2 minutes to let them cool down a little. Otherwise the moist from buns (surface espeially) evaporated really fast after removing from hot steamer. Also, it's better to cover steamed buns (still warm) with a clean kitchen towel (no plastic wrap) to keep them moist.

For steamed bun dough (made with low-protein flour), I am not sure if it can be pulled till a window pane. Usually I check by eyes, sorry cos hard to tell you how it looks like. For sure, more than 10 minutes I kneaded (15-20mins).

I made this steamed buns today. I halve the recipe and made 8 buns, and followed the recipe to the T. Here I would like to share my experience with you, not sure if I've done anything wrong.

At the beginning, the dough felt a little dry, but I didn't add more water. Soon after I continue to knead, it was able to hold together and very soon turned soft and at this point, not sticky. As I knead further, the dough became more and more sticky. After around 10 minutes of hand kneading, it was very soft and pliable, but very sticky. I was able to pull and stretch the dough without breaking easily, and I thought it felt like I've reached the "window-pane" stage. I stopped after 15 minutes of hand kneading.

After covering the dough with a damp cloth for nearly 1 hour, it seemed like it had only risen about 30%. I then put it in my oven's proofing funtion for about 30 min, but again not much improvement. I don't think it's due to the yeast, because it's from a new package, and I could see bubbles forming at the beginning when mixed with lukewarm water. Anyway, I took the dough out and continue to knead in the baking powder solution.

After filling the buns, I was not able to pleat because the dough was still very sticky (although not as sticky at the stage before the first rise). It didn't help even when I dusted the dough and my palm with flour. The first few buns tear at the sides and bottom when I was trying to pleat them (because it got stretched while sticking to my palm). I didn't really roll them thin, I just flatten the dough using my palm and fingers.

After steamed, I noticed the bun has a light yellowish color. I've added a little vinegar in the steaming water. I'm guessing the baking powder is too much, because it left an after taste in my mouth after eating. The bun was not as soft as I had hoped for. But then, alas, this is still better than my previous experience with other recipe. Any idea what went wrong? Thank you.

Thanks for the Recipe! I didnt have Hong Kong flour and its hard to find it here(California) so i substitute it with Swans Down Cake flour. I also substitute wheat starch for Tapioca starch crossing my fingers that it will be similar. Suprisingly it turned out PERFECT! My steamed buns were soo soft and fluffy!

HiI've followed exactly the steps in making the dough/buns but after steaming right after I opened the lid of my steamer, OMG!! it was with dotted yellow over! Is it that I didn't dissolved well enough the baking powder? I did give it a good stir to make sure it was dissolved well enough only I put it in the dough. Sigh!

Hi Lydia, thanks for your great recipe,yesterday I found your site and prepare to make that lovely bun.Fortunately I got Hong Kong pau flour and all other things.But mistakenly I bought baking soda instead of baking powder. can I use the same amount(10g) as in your recipe. Thein Aung Yangon,Myanmar.

It is better to use baking powder as baking soda will cause yellowish (or yellowish spots) bun. And the taste wise will also different, not recommend to use baking soda in this one even though they have same function.

Hi all, To clear the confusion about adding the baking powder water last, you do so only if you are using single acting baking powder, ie the one that reacts to liquid. But if you use a double acting powder, ie one that first reacts slightly to liquid then reacts in a major way with heat, you can add it in the beginning with the rest of the stuff.Hope my 2 cents helps!Can anyone share what the addition of wheat starch does?